There's a kind of fear and anxiety that comes when we relinquish our belief in our own horribleness. We actually resist accepting ourselves because the responsibility is scary. Because it suggests that not only are we capable of change in the future (and change is always scary) but that we have perhaps wasted much of our past. And that never feels good either. In fact, another little trap is when people accept that they're not a horrible person-but then decide that they are a horrible person for not realizing that years ago!

We must address the emotional problem the compulsion is trying to numb or cover up. You compulsively eat tubs of ice cream each week. Why? Well, eating-especially sugary, unhealthy food-is a form of numbing. It brings the body comfort. It's sometimes known as "emotional eating" and the same way an alcoholic drinks to escape her demons, the overeater eats to escape his.

<ol>
	<li>There's nothing to numb anymore. Therefore, suddenly those tubs of ice cream seem pointless.</li>
	<li>You see no reason to punish yourself. On the contrary, you like yourself, so you want to take care of yourself. More importantly, it feels good to take care of yourself.</li>
</ol>

It's not that the pain goes away. No, the pain is still there. It's just that the pain now has meaning. It has purpose. And that makes all the difference. You work with the pain rather than against it. You pursue it rather than run from it. And with every pursuit, you get stronger and healthier and happier.

Here's how the story went: There was a hyper-productive sleep schedule that had been discovered by military scientists. They were testing the limits of sleep deprivation on soldiers and made this startling discovery. Supposedly, great historical figures like Napoleon and Da Vinci and Tesla followed the same sleep schedule and it's why they were so productive and influential in history.

If Self-Discipline Feels Difficult, Then You're Doing It Wrong

Anna Kari